Wanderer of Time: Darkness Within

by Tinker16

The powers within have been steadily growing, buying time until the moment of remembrance. The moment swiftly approaches. Wanda's fears are coming to a head as she realizes what has been living inside her has only one purpose in the universe. And it holds no qualms in destroying any who gets in its way, even those who Wanda loves. (Part Three of the Wanderer of Time trilogy)

16. Ch 16: Amelia Grown Up

Welcome back readers! :D

It's that time again for another new chapter! I really hope everyone will enjoy! :)

XxXxXxXx

Chapter 16: Amelia Grown Up

We'll always be together . . . won't we, Shelly?

Of course! Forever and ever!

Promise?

I promise that no matter what happens, I'll never leave you. Not ever, Alpha.

And you always keep your promises, right, Shelly? . . . Shelly? . . . S-shelly? . . . Shelly?!

"I don't care if we were breaking and entering, you don't ever hit my Wanderer with a cricket bat!"

Wanda jerked up with a sniff, blinking slowly to clear her vision. Everything stayed hazy for a second before clearing for her to see Amy standing strictly in front, glaring down heatedly. Turning her head to the side, Wanda saw the Doctor sitting next to her, holding a similarly heated gaze at the pretend policewoman. Sitting up a little more, the cuffs around her wrist showed her that both she and the Doctor were attached to an old radiator of the house. Right across from where little Amelia's bedroom had been. Wanda winced as her head throbbed along the side where she had been hit. Damn that hurt.

"God, Amy, did you really have to use a cricket bat?" she grumbled under her breath, rubbing at the tender spot on her head. The Doctor whipped his gaze over at Wanda, dropping his glare to look at the Time Lady in concern. He scooted over to her, checking over her head.

"Wanda, are you okay? Where does it hurt? Are you bleeding? Do you need bandages? Medicine? Anything?" the Doctor asked her rapidly.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, it just bloody hurts," Wanda mumbled, patting his arm to let him know she was truly okay. Then, it was her turn to look at him in concern. "Are you all right? She didn't get you too bad, did she?" The Doctor smiled brightly, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"I'm just glad that you're fine," he responded merrily. "So, what are we up to h—?" He began to ask, but then Amy interrupted him.

"Can you two just shut up now?" Amy barked out in irritation. The Doctor shot a hard gaze at her, gritting his teeth as he was still angry by the policewoman hurting his Wanderer. No one hurt his Wanderer.

"What are you doing here? Where's Amelia?" he retorted, eyes shifting around the young woman as if wondering when the little girl from before would suddenly pop out and yell 'surprise!' at them. He really hoped she was all right. He knew they had arrived later than planned, but he was sure Amelia would understand in the end. She was an intelligent and tough girl. She knew how to deal with disappointments in life. Besides, they should not really be that late in arrival. A few hours at the most.

"Amelia Pond?" the policewoman questioned, staring at him in interest.

"Yeah. Amelia. Little Scottish girl. Where is she?" the Doctor demanded to know. "I promised her five minutes, but the engines were phasing. I suppose we must have gone a bit far."

"Just a bit," Wanda grumbled next to him, still rubbing at her head. The Doctor glanced at her then stared back at the policewoman, suddenly growing an anxious expression, worried over the little girl they had just left.

"Has something happened to her?" he asked the ginger woman.

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time," the policewoman stated curtly. Wanda glanced up at Amy, knowing this was both technically a lie and the truth. For Amy had not been 'Amelia' for a very long time now. But it was still a lie of sorts.

"How long?" the Doctor questioned, beginning to feel dread build up within him.

The policewoman stared him down with an even expression. "Six months."

The Doctor's eyes widened dramatically, looking alarmed by this news. He shook his head in disbelief. "No! No, no, no! We can't be six months late! I said five minutes. I promised."

The policewoman narrowed her eyes slightly, looking as if she wanted to retort angrily to this statement. But she turned around, stiffly walking away from them. The Doctor leaned forward and held an expression of panic, pulling on the cuffs which made Wanda's wrist bang sharply on the radiator. "What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?"

"Sarge, it's me again. Hurry it up. These two know something about Amelia Pond," Amy said curtly into her fake radio attached to her uniform.

Wanda groaned, rolling her eyes. She really, really wanted to just get this over with. She had the biggest headache right now, her head was pounding away and the barriers within her mind were acting up worse than normal. Plus, on top of that, she felt highly irritated that Amy had hit them both over the head with a cricket bat. A bloody cricket bat! The Time Lady's eye twitched as she felt her temper rise. She let out a breath, trying to keep her cool.

"Look, Amy, just drop the act already," Wanda said. "And stop with the British accent as well. It really doesn't suit you." Amy whipped around, looking pointedly at Wanda as if to tell her to shut it. The Doctor glanced back and forth between the two girls, looking confused.

"What? Who's Amy?" he asked.

"She is," Wanda nodded at the ginger girl.

"Your name's Amy?" the Doctor questioned.

"Yeah. What of it?" Amy retorted, placing her names on her hips and stared heatedly at him again. The Doctor frowned and just shook his head quickly.

"Look, names aside, we just need to speak to whoever lives in this house right now," he said firmly, needing to hurry up in fixing the issue with Prisoner Zero and figure out where little Amelia had gone. He dearly hoped that the child was all right.

"You're talking to her," Wanda said, pointing at Amy. The red head shot her another look of irritation. Clearly Wanda stating the obvious was getting on the future companions nerves. Wanda merely stuck out her tongue. Good. The girl should be irritated. It was payback for using that cricket bat.

"You live here? But you're the police," the Doctor stated, frowning in confusion. Why did Wanda say the policewoman should 'drop the act'?

"Actually, she's a kiss-o-gram," Wanda said causally, smirking at Amy. The ginger gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes.

"Gee, thanks a lot," Amy retorted with her Scottish accent finally coming out. She yanked off her police helmet to let her hair fall around her shoulders. She tossed the costume helmet aside, holding her hands on her hips as she shot Wanda another look of annoyance. "Could you have at least let me pretend a bit longer? I wanted to mess with you both." The Doctor blinked rapidly when Amy waved a hand at him, completely dumbfounded now. What was going on?

"Nope, sorry, can't waste any time here," Wanda explained. She gave Amy an apologetic expression. "Sorry, I would have, 'cause seeing you act like the police is highly entertaining. Especially with the Doctor's flabbergasted state. But we really, really need to get a move on. We're on a tight schedule." She patted at her trouser pocket as the Doctor stuttered 'what?' next to her. But no matter how much she searched, Wanda could not find her sonic screwdriver. Uh-oh.

"She's a kiss-o-gram? You're a kiss-o-gram?" the Doctor asked Amy in bewilderment.

"Yeah, so? Got a problem with that?" Amy retorted, crossing her arms to glare at him.

The Doctor looked her up and down, frowning at the police costume. "Why are you dressed as a policewoman?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "It was either this or a French maid."

"Uh, guys, we have a problem," Wanda spoke up, gaining their attention. "I have no idea where my sonic is." The Doctor frowned and patted at his own pocket, eyes going wide when he realized his was gone as well.

"Mine, too," he said. He yanked on the cuffs, frowning at them for a second before looking back at Amy. "Can you get us out of these, please?" Amy's face suddenly dropped and she grew a guilty expression.

"I can't . . . I lost the key," she admitted in embarrassment. The Doctor gave her an expression of disbelief.

"How could you have lost it?!" he asked in exasperation. He yanked on the cuffs harshly, but hurriedly halted when Wanda made a noise of pain when her wrist banged against the radiator once again. "Sorry." He rubbed at her wrist in apology.

"It's fine. It's just . . . I know where the sonics are," Wanda said carefully, slowly gazing down to the sixth door down the hallway. The Doctor and Amy looked down at the end of the hall as well, with the Time Lord staring at the extra door in uncertainty and Amy merely looking on blankly, being unable to see the extra doorway. Wanda shifted on the spot, knowing what Amy would have to do, and she did not like it one bit. "Our sonics must have both gone under the door somehow. Which I'm not sure why mine did since it was in my pocket at the time, not in my hand like yours, Doctor. Maybe he took it when Amy was cuffing you up and wasn't looking? I don't know, really."

"We're going to have to get them out somehow," the Doctor muttered. Amy turned towards them, frowning and furrowing her brows heavily.

"What are you two on about?" she asked.

"The sixth door at the end of the hallway," the Doctor stated, pointing at the door. Amy narrowed her eyes, gazing around the floor quickly and then looking back at him.

"There is no sixth room. There's only five," she stated curtly.

"No, there's six," Wanda said evenly. She gazed at Amy with a steady expression. "It's been there. It's always been there. You've just never been able to see it. But sometimes, on some nights, you can. You get confused by it, especially when you hear strange noises coming from it. You've just been merely been passing it off as a figment of your imagination. But it's there, always there."

"It's exactly where you don't want to look. Where you never want to look. The corner of your eye," the Doctor added in, keeping his tone and gaze firm. "Look behind you." Staring at them with uneasy, the ginger girl slowly turned her head to look towards the end of the hall. Her eyes widened in shock, stunned by the sight of the door jammed into the corner of the hallway. A door that had never been there before.

"That's . . . that is not possible," she breathed, backing up slightly in fear. "How's that possible?"

"There's a perception filter all around the door," the Doctor explained quickly. "Sensed it last time we were here. Should've seen it."

"But that's a whole room," Amy stated, sounding frightened by suddenly seeing something that had never been seen by her before. Something that really should have never been there. "That's a whole room I've never even noticed."

"The filter stops you noticing," the Doctor went on to explain. "Something came here a while ago to hide. It's still hiding."

"Well, like I said, Amy has noticed it in the past. She's just been ignoring it," Wanda said, pulling slightly at the cuff on her wrist. She glanced at Amy, then stared back at the cuff around her and the Doctor's wrists. There had to be some way to get them off without the use of the sonics or Amy having to place herself in danger by going into the room. But she stiffened when she heard Amy beginning to walk towards the new door.

"Stay away from that door!" the Doctor and Wanda yelled at the girl together. Amy ignored them, walking more steadily towards the door.

"You said something about your tools being in there, right?" she asked as she got closer to the door. "Someone needs to go get them."

"We'll figure that out later. Right now, just stay away from it! It's too dangerous," Wanda told the girl. But they both watched in disbelief as Amy reached for the doorknob.

"Do not touch that door!" the Doctor ordered her. Amy looked briefly over her shoulder at them, glaring in irritation. Then she huffed and promptly opened the door and stomped inside the room. The Doctor and Wanda both scoffed. "Why does no one ever listen to us? Do we just have faces that nobody listens to?"

"Probably," Wanda grumbled.

The Doctor turned to her quickly. "Do you have anything else on you? A bobby pin, perhaps? I could work with that."

"Sorry. These are just normal trousers. No pocket dimensions or anything." Wanda shrugged, embarrassed that she had not thought ahead to wear a pair that could hold more items for them to use. The Doctor patted her shoulder to let her know it was okay, he did not blame her for not having anything on her. In fact, really, he knew he should have planned ahead as well, for he really had nothing on him that might help their situation, either.

"Those things you were looking for . . . what do they look like?" Amy called out to them from the room.

"Sliver, blue at the end," the Doctor answered.

"Bronze and purple for mine," Wanda replied.

"Right. Found them. They're here," Amy told them, beginning to sound very nervous now. There was a long pause from her in the room before she spoke again. "Is it normal for them to jump up onto tables?" The Doctor's eyes widened while Wanda grew an anxious expression.

"Get out of there!" both Time Lords ordered her hurriedly. "Get out!" Both pulled as far as they could on the cuffs, wishing to get to the girl and pull her out themselves.

"Amy, please, just get out! You have the sonics, now get out!" Wanda pleaded to the girl as the Doctor tried fiddling with the cuffs to unlock them.

"There's nothing here, but . . .," Amy spoke with a wavering voice.

"Don't try to see it," the Doctor commanded urgently. "If it knows you've seen it, it will kill you. Don't look at it."

They tensed as they heard Amy gasp, followed by a loud growl and a scream. Amy ran back out of the room in fright, slamming the door behind her. She rushed over to the Time Lords, handing them back their screwdrivers. Wanda began wiping off the slime from her screwdriver as the Doctor tried getting his own to work on locking the sixth door. The tool kept buzzing weakly, flattering as it was clearly damaged from the stress it had been put under during this adventure. Fortunately, Wanda's still seemed to work fine as she managed to unlock the cuffs from both her own wrist and the Doctor's. They both stood up quickly as a bright light was seen coming from under the doorway. Then, the trio jumped when the door was kicked down roughly, thrown to the ground in the hallway.

They stared in bewilderment to what came out of the room. It was a bald man, wearing a jean work outfit and had a tool belt on. He held a tight grip on a chain dog leash, with a large dog attached at the end. Both man and dog seemed to glare at them in an aggressive manner. Amy blinked dumbly.

"But it's just . . .," she trailed off, unable to understand what exactly she was seeing.

"No, it isn't," the Doctor said steadily, keeping a firm eye on the creature in front of them. "Look at the faces." They watched as the dog held a blank face while the man snarled and barked like the dog would have been.

"What?" Amy scoffed. "I'm sorry, but what?" The Doctor smirked slightly.

"It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two," he explained. He stared the creature down as it looked robotically around the area. "Cleve old mutli-form. A bit of a rush job, though. Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?" The man and dog's head whipped back to stare aggressively at the Doctor as he continued to gaze back curiously. "Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?"

The man standing before them only growled and snarled loudly, stepping towards them with its mouth opening to show them all large, sharp fangs. Amy backed up in fright as Wanda hurriedly stepped around and stood in front of the girl, making certain she herself was in the main sight of the creature in case it decided to go after the ginger girl.

"Stay, boy!" the Doctor barked in a strict order, making the creature slowly close its mouth as the Time Lord stared it down. "We're safe. Want to know why? Ginger here sent for backup."

"I didn't send for backup!" Amy exclaimed in aggravation and fright. The Time Lady in front of Amy rolled her eyes, gazing over her shoulder at the red head.

"He knows that. He was making a clever lie," Wanda stated, making Amy wince in embarrassment at her mistake. The Doctor shot the kiss-o-gram girl a sharp look before gazing back strictly at the creature in front of them.

"Okay, yeah, no backup," he said rapidly. "And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we had backup, then you'd have to kill us." They all suddenly stiffened when a booming voice rang loudly outside the house, echoing throughout the sky.

"Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded," bellowed the voice. The same guard's voice as they had heard behind the crack in Amelia's wall from before. The voice continued to repeat itself as Prisoner Zero in front of them gazed around robotically again before marching off to look outside from another room.

"What's that?" Amy asked them as the voice went on bellowing out.

"That'd be the backup," Wanda mumbled under her breath. The Doctor cleared his throat slightly, realizing this day was really not starting out well for him.

"Okay, one more time," he went on again to try to turn the situation around somehow. But he was stopped short when Wanda pressed a finger to his lips.

"No. Doctor, really, stop while you're ahead. You're only gonna dig yourself a deeper hole at the rate you're going," she stated, shaking her head in exasperation. Really, this day was not going well for him at all. She hurriedly grabbed his hand and Amy's, pulling them in swift motion towards the stairs. "Let's just get a move on, shall we?"

Neither beside her argued on that as they all ran together down the stairs. As they ran, they heard the guard's voice from the sky change its message, telling Prisoner Zero that if it did not vacate the human residence, then the place would be incinerated. To which Wanda rolled her eyes in aggravation and huffed out a breath. Well, that was just peachy.

"What's going on? Tell me!" Amy demanded in question when they finally managed to get outside and ran over to the still smoking TARDIS. The Doctor, turning around and took a breath to begin speaking.

"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house," he explained rapidly in one breath. He gave her a side glance. "Any questions?" Amy blinked for a second before furrowing her brows.

"Yes," she stated.

"Me, too," the Doctor muttered as he tried getting the TARDIS doors open. But the old girl simply refused, remaining firmly shut as she was in the middle of repairs, too dangerous to allow anyone inside during this point in time. Wanda patted the Doctor's arm when he spat out a rant of frustration.

"She needs to rebuild, sweetie. She won't get any better from that crash if we keep making her fly around in this state," she said, give his arm another quick pat. "Besides, we can handle this on our own. Just let Sexy get some much needed rest." She heard a thankful hum coming from the ship, letting Wanda know that the old girl really appreciated that. The Time Lady smiled brightly, nodding her head lightly towards the ship before turning abruptly towards Amy. "So . . . about that shed."

Amy blinked in confusion, asking, "What?"

"That shed," the Doctor suddenly spoke, running over to the shed in the yard, looking it over hurriedly as they all heard the man and dog both barking angrily at them from the upstairs window. "We destroyed that shed last time we were here, smashed it to pieces." Amy rolled her eyes, running over to grab at his arm and try dragging him off.

"So there's a new one. Let's go," she replied in frustration as to why exactly the Doctor would suddenly want to discuss this right now of all times. Wanda walked over beside the two.

"Liar," she stated, giving the red head a pointed look. "That shed is not anywhere near new."

"She's right. It's got old," the Doctor responded. He tapped at the side of it. "It's ten years old at least." Leaning forward, he gave it a sniff and a lick, running the chemistry and age of the wood within his mind quickly. "Twelve years. We're not six months late, we're twelve years late." He turned, looking suspiciously at the red head standing next to Wanda, seeing how the ginger girl now had wide eyes of shock.

"He's coming," Amy tried weakly to change the subject. The Doctor only stepped towards her, narrowing his eyes.

"You said six months," he stated, sounding both irritated and angry. "Why did you say six months?"

"Because you said five minutes," Wanda said casually, gaining the Time Lords attention. She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head towards Amy next to her. "Meet Amelia Pond. They grow up quick, don't they?" The Doctor's eyes widened, staring at both Wanda and Amy in shock, alarm, and disbelief with his mouth hanging open.

"What?" he gasped.

Amy only rolled her eyes in response, grabbing both the Doctor's and Wanda's hands, dragging them off. The Time Lord merely continued to stutter 'what?' as they ran along with Amy. They rushed away from the house and down a road, trying to place as much distance between them and Prisoner Zero as possible. Eventually, when they reached a good distance away from Amy's house, the Doctor halted them to look at the red head in demand for answers.

"You're Amelia," he stated, still trying to process this information that the ginger girl in front of him had truly been the little Scottish girl they had seen only minutes ago. He looked her up and down, wondering how this could have gone so wrong. They were only supposed to be five minutes late, not twelve bloody years. Standing in front of him, Amy glared in annoyance.

"You're late," she snapped, turning to stomp down the road towards the main centre of her village. The Doctor and Wanda hurriedly paced to keep up with her.

"Amelia Pond. You're the little girl," the Doctor said, still trying to see if this were some kind of joke. It just had to be. But his hopes in seeing the little Scottish girl were slowly crushed as he began to see the signs of this being the little girl in front of them, all grown up. It made him greatly disappointed in himself in not being able to keep his promises. Why was he never able to keep the promises he made?

"I'm Amelia, and you're late," Amelia retorted as she marched on.

"Actually, we're right on time," Wanda spoke up, gaining their attention. She stared up thoughtfully as if she were checking something in her mind. "We've arrived exactly twelve years, three months—."

"Eight days," Amy muttered, keeping her gaze firmly on the ground as her angry expression softened. Wanda looked at the girl in shock, then smile warmly, feeling touched.

"You've kept count," she whispered, reaching forward and grasping the girl's hand gently.

"I've been waiting. What else was I supposed to do?" Amy glanced at her, then hurriedly looked away as if not wanting to show Wanda how truly happy she was in seeing the two of them again.

Wanda leaned forward brightly, giving the girl a merry kiss on the cheek as if knowing what was on Amy's mind. "I'm happy to see you, too. And we'll make this up to you, I promise."

"You promise?" Amy scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Kept my last promise, didn't I?" Wanda countered, smiling brightly. Amy stopped short, staring at Wanda for a moment.

"Yeah, you did," she agreed.

Wanda gave the girl a sort of child-like look, appearing to be hopeful for forgiveness and acceptance. "Forgive us?"

Amy gave her a pointed look for a moment as if to pretend to still be angry and annoyed, but she ended up letting a smile slip out in the end. "Oh, all right. I forgive you." Wanda beamed and bounced happily, making Amy chuckle as the blonde girl linked their arms together merrily in excitement for being forgiven. But then Amy gave the still baffled Doctor standing behind them a sharp look. "You, I'm still cross with."

"What? Why?" he asked, still feeling at a loss for this moment.

Amy only replied but turning her head back around sharply and marched on with Wanda by her side. Giving the Doctor a sympathetic look, Wanda merely shrugged her shoulders, at just as much of a loss as him in why Amy still seemed determined to be angry with him. She had been hopeful that in telling little Amelia about the time when they would be actually arriving, promising in return that they would be back one day, that perhaps Amy in the future would be a bit more forgiving. Though it seemed Amy still held high resentment against the Time Lord specifically for some reason. But on the other hand, when Wanda glanced at Amy, she saw an underlining smile just there on the red head's lips. Wanda snickered, wondering if perhaps this was Amy's way of teasing the Doctor.

The trio halted in their steps once getting to the centre of the village, stopping right next to an ice cream van. They could see the man selling the ice cream was messing with the speaker system, trying to get the Atraxi guard's message off of it as the deep voice continued to bellow out its warning in the incineration of the human residence. Amy's eyes went wide in fright and alarm as they began to notice the message being displayed across other devices as well. They could see people within the village standing around in confusion as they looked at their mobiles or music players, trying to get the repeating message off of their devices.

"What's happening?" Amy breathed in a panic, staring at the two next to her for answers.

Neither answered her as the Doctor and Wanda ran off, jumping over a nearby house's yard fence and going up to the door. They both ran into the house to see an elderly woman, Mrs. Angelo (grandmother of Jeff Angelo), was busy trying to get her telly to change channels. However, no matter how much she frustratingly tried, the channel remained the same of the Atraxi guard's large eye staring through the screen, repeating the same message over and over.

"Hello!" the Doctor and Wanda said brightly together once the elderly woman turned to them in notice of their presence.

"Sorry to burst in, we're doing a special on television faults in this area," the Doctor said brightly.

"As well as crimes," Wanda added in, smiling at Mrs. Angelo. The woman blinked in shock at the two of them, turning her attention away once Amy came running into the living room as well, panting next to the two Time Lords as she shot them a look of annoyance. Did they really have to go running off like that? They better not go making this a habit.

"I was just about to phone," Mrs. Angelo told them as the Doctor and Wanda hurriedly went over to the telly with Amy right behind them. "It's on every channel." The Doctor grabbed the remote from the woman, seeing for himself if this were true. He began banging on the device in hand as Mrs. Angelo turned her attention onto Amy behind her. "Hello, Amy, dear. Are you a policewoman now?"

"Well, sometimes," Amy told her, suddenly seeming very embarrassed as her face began to grow red.

"I thought you were a nurse," Mrs. Angelo stated, frowning in puzzlement. Amy shifted on the spot, wishing she were anywhere but here. Her current job was not something she really wanted to discuss with the elderly woman. Especially not in front of the two Time Lords whom she had idolized when she was little. Or . . . still did, really.

"I can be a nurse," Amy muttered. Wanda looked up, giggling and smirking cheekily at the girl.

"Or a nun. Or a French maid," she snickered. "You do love to dabble, don't you, Amy?" She sent the girl a cheeky wink, making Amy huff out in frustration and roll her eyes. Mrs. Angelo frowned for a moment longer before turning her attention to the two by the telly, staring at them in interest.

"Amy, who are your friends?" the woman asked the red head next to her. The Doctor frowned as he finally turned his eyes away from the telly.

"Why are you Amy now? Whatever happened to your other name?" he questioned curiously.

"I'm just Amy now, all right," Amy explained, shifting on her feet, feeling even more embarrassed.

"Amelia Pond. That was a great name," the Doctor argued, shaking his head in disproval of the girl changing her name. Amy's face darkened in colour, not meeting his, or especially Wanda's, eyes as she felt more discomfited.

"Amy's sort of a nickname I've picked up," she mumbled in explanation. "It's something someone once called me a long time ago." She glanced at Wanda and then hurriedly averted her eyes as she cleared her throat. Wanda beamed, bouncing over to the girl and linked their arms together.

"Aww, Amy. That's so sweet of you," she beamed. She pecked the girl on the cheek, feeling deeply gladdened to know that Amy had chosen her new nickname of sort because of what Wanda had let slip out during their first meeting. Amy blushed more, muttering 'shut up' her under breath as a small smile crept on her face. The Doctor smiled and turned around to face the telly again, knowing he would let the subject drop for Amy was not the only one who loved going by a nickname in the group. But then it dawned on him on wondering what exactly Amy did in this 'kiss-o-gram' job of hers. From the sounds of it, it sounded highly inappropriate for a girl her age.

"I know you, don't I?" Mrs. Angelo suddenly asked the Doctor, gaining his attention. "I've seen you somewhere before."

"Not me. Brand-new face. First time on," the Doctor replied merrily. He made sort of a silly face at the elderly woman, making her blink in bewilderment as he turned his attention back onto Amy, looking suddenly stern like a parent. "And what sort of job's a kiss-o-gram?" He saw Wanda rolling her eyes at him.

"Doctor, drop it. It's Amy's choice in what job she has, it's her life," Wanda said, giving him a stern look as to not tell off their current companion.

"Yes, but if I'm thinking correctly on what a kiss-o-gram is, then I don't approve," the Doctor argued sternly.

"Amy's a big girl. She should be allowed to choose what job she wants," Wanda disputed, giving him a determined expression, ready to defend Amy's decisions in her life. Amy grinned brightly, almost smirking at the Doctor as she linked arms strongly with Wanda and gave him pointed look.

"Yeah, Doctor. Let me choose what I want," Amy chortled. "The way you're acting, you're worse than my aunt." The Doctor shot her a glare of annoyance.

"I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt," he retorted harshly. Blinking after he let this slip out, he felt embarrassed by this, especially when seeing both Wanda and Amy giggle in amusement at his words. He pointed strictly at them. "And that is not how I'm introducing myself." He turned around swiftly, clearing his throat quietly and gaining back his smile as he knew he should let the subject of Amelia's job drop for now.

"He's the crazy aunt of our family," Wanda whispered in Amy's ear as the Doctor began to fiddle with Mrs. Angelo's radio, checking to see if the Atraxi message was truly being broadcasted across all of Earth as he suspected. Amy gave Wanda a look of perplexity by this statement while the blonde merely giggled and winked. She let go of Amy's arm, bouncing over to the Doctor as she saw him opening a nearby window to gaze up at the sky.

"The answer is twenty minutes, by the way," she said, gaining his attention with a start. "We've got exactly," she gazed up at the ceiling as if seeing the time up there, "twenty minutes and five seconds before they—." She was cut off as the door shut in the front room, showing them Jeff Angelo coming into the house. The male stopped short with a laptop in hand when seeing them all there in the living room. The Doctor frowned, walking up to the man as he suddenly wished to check something.

"Yes, two poles, medium size, basic molten core," he rambled on, going up and down on his tiptoes to judge the difference in Jeff's and his height range. He pouted lightly in disappointment, realizing he had regenerated shorter. Damn! Short and not ginger. He suddenly gave a slight grin as the memory of Wanda saying that when she had regenerated into her Third incarnation, but then shook his head to snap himself out of it as he turned around to face the group of females. "Yeah, twenty minutes sounds about right."

"Well, it's nineteen minutes now," Wanda said, shaking her head in amusement, but also in exasperation. They seriously did not have time for the Doctor to compare his height with others. "Like I told the two of you before, we're really on a tight schedule today."

"Twenty minutes—," Amy began to ask.

"Nineteen minutes," Wanda corrected her. Amy rolled her eyes, letting out a huff of breath.

"Fine. Nineteen minutes to what?" she questioned the Doctor and Wanda. Jeff blinked in astonishment and confusion as the Doctor walked away to answer Amy's question.

"Are you the Doctor?" Jeff asked, interrupting the Doctor before he could speak. Mrs. Angelo's face brightened as she realized who the two were in her living room.

"He is, isn't he? He's the Doctor! The Raggedy Doctor," the elderly woman stated merrily, turning towards Wanda and Amy. "And she's the Wanderer! All those cartoons you did, when you were little. The Raggedy Doctor and your Wanderer!" Wanda beamed brightly as the Doctor could only stare in confusion.

"Yep, that's us! Right, Amy?" Wanda replied, grinning and bumping her hip lightly against a blushing Amy. The ginger girl only muttered and grumbled under her breath, averting her eyes in humiliation. Wanda grabbed both the girl's hand and the Doctor, pulling them along hurriedly. "It's fine, Amy, really. We both feel really touched that you really cared for us that much. Right, Doctor?" She gave him a pointed look. He blinked rapidly, trying to get over the surprise in finally knowing where exactly Wanda had gained the 'Raggedy Doctor' name she would sometimes call him. Did this mean that Amy was . . . ?

"Yeah, yeah. It's brilliant," the Doctor praised, grinning happily towards Amy. She only blushed more but held a small smile all the same. He bounced in step, beginning to be the one to lead the way as Wanda and Amy followed after him through the village. "So, we have nineteen minutes until the spaceship above the planet incinerates everything."

"Nineteen minutes, thirty seconds until the end of the world. Yep," Wanda said casual statement. Amy's eyes went wide, staring at the two in shock.

"What?!" she exclaimed in panic.

"Don't worry, Amy. We deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis," Wanda replied easily, grinning at the girl next to her. "No biggie."

"Oh, no big deal, then," Amy scoffed, looking at the two in disbelief. The Doctor began to stare around quickly, beginning to formulate on how exactly they would be able to stop said end of the world from occurring.

"What is this place? Where are we?" he asked Amy.

"Leadworth," Amy answered, wondering why exactly he needed to know that.

"Where's the rest of it?" the Doctor continued to ask, frowning in seeing such a small village around them. This could not be it, could it? Amy and Wanda both rolled their eyes.

"This is it," Amy said curtly.

"And there's nothing really here except a post office that's shut. Oh, and a duck pond," Wanda stated, coming to a halt when seeing the small pond that they had been walking past. It was small, with nicely trimmed hedges around it and a few flower bushes. "Oh, look, it really is a duck pond. It's so cute!"

"Why aren't there any ducks?" the Doctor questioned, frowning in disproval at the sight. Amy stared at the two in disbelief, scoffing even louder now.

"Can you two please focus!" she barked out. Both blinked, looking away from the duck pond and at her.

"Sorry," they said together. The Doctor suddenly gasped, clutching at his chest as he stumbled back. Wanda caught him, holding him up as he twitching and trembled in pain, his body having another spasm from regeneration aftereffects. The Time Lady looked over her Time Lord in concern, greatly worried about him.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Wanda asked him in worriment, looking almost panicked in fear of him being hurt in anyway. "Is there anything I can do for you? Medicine? Ice pack? Maybe a banana? Bananas are good. Always bring one to a party. We could have a party; it would be nice to have a get-together and—no wait." She shook her head as she began to ramble on rapidly. "Sorry, sorry, no, we don't need that right now." The Doctor chuckled, leaning forward to give her forehead a quick kiss.

"Don't worry. It's just a bit too soon for me. I'm just not ready, not done yet," he told her, trying to assure her that he would be fine in the end. After everything was settled today, he knew he would just need a nice long nap and would be right as rain again. The world around them suddenly went dim and darker than usual, making the trio gaze up in shock at the sky. The whole thing appeared off, with a strange shimmer around the air. The sun itself seemed to go a strange tint of yellow and red.

"And there's the force field," Wanda muttered. "Peachy."

"The what?" Amy questioned, squinting her eyes as she tried seeing what was wrong with the sky. "What's happening? What's wrong with the sun?"

"Nothing," the Doctor stated. "You're looking at it through a force field. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere, now they're getting ready to boil the planet." Amy turned sharply to them, her eyes going the widest they have been all day, looking literally like they were ready to pop from the terror the girl was going through.

Wanda glanced over at Amy, seeing how the girl stared at everything in a panic, even noticing how the girl's breathing had sped up in fright. The beginning signs that she was going to have a mental breakdown. Amy had been doing well so far today, taking things in stride of her imaginary friends from her childhood suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and the sudden realization of an alien living inside her house for twelve years. But now it seemed things were becoming too much for her as she began to suddenly break down in thoughts and keeping herself steady. Wanda hurriedly dug through the Doctor's front pocket in his trousers, searching for something in particular. The Doctor jumped, surprised by this sudden intrusion and his hearts sped up greatly as he felt Wanda's hand brush against his inner thigh as she pulled out the apple.

"Here, before you freak out on us, Amy, take a look at this," Wanda stated, tossing the girl the apple. Amy caught it, slowly turning the fruit around. She gasped in shock when seeing the smiling face carved into it. Looking as fresh as the day she had done it all those years ago. Her eyes sharply stared back at the couple who both stood firmly by the duck pond, looking back at her in expectancy.

"This—this can't be real. This isn't real, is it?" Amy breathed, shaking her head in denial. "This is some kind of big wind-up. You both told me you had a time machine. But I . . . I thought . . . then I grew up, and—."

"Oh! You never want to do that," the Doctor said.

Amy stared at the two in uncertainty, not sure whether to run or stay put and stand her ground. "Who are you two? Really?"

"I'm the Wanderer," Wanda said gently, as if trying to ease the girl into believing them and not freaking out.

"And I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said evenly, not too worried about the girl's state of mind. "We're time travellers. Everything we told you twelve years ago is true. We're real. What's happening in the sky is real, and if we don't do something about it, if you don't keep it together, everything you've ever known is over."

Amy shook her head, trying to let go of the voice in her head screaming 'no!' and to run. But no matter how much she tried, her fears only seemed to keep her from truly believing them. Wanda moved away from the Doctor and walked up to Amy, gently cupping their hands together while giving the girl a reassuring smile.

"Hey, it's fine. I know you're a little scared right now," Wanda said softly.

"Little?" Amy laughed at this statement. "I'd call it more than a little."

"Yeah," Wanda nodded, giving a light shrug. "Okay, more than a little. But really, I know how it feels right now. I've been in your shoes a long time ago myself when I first met the Doctor and began travelling with him. I was just a blown away by the news of him being real and just as frightened. And it was also on a day where a force field was placed up into the sky and the world was threatened to be destroyed. I also had a voice in my head telling me that this all just had to be some kind of bizarre dream and that I was asleep in bed back home." Amy blinked in astonishment, knowing the blonde girl had gotten it spot on.

"Okay . . . so you know what I'm feeling and thinking. So, do you know what I should do now?" she asked the blonde girl. Wanda merely grew a large, warm smile.

"I don't know. That's for you to decide," she replied. "But you know what?"

"What?" Amy questioned.

Wanda's smile grew into a playful grin. "Things get a lot more fun and exciting if you just tell that annoying little voice to shove off. At least for nineteen minutes. Then, afterwards, you can lock the Doctor up to a car all you want." She gave the ginger girl a wink.

Amy blinked rapidly for a moment, then let out a laugh of pure bewilderment, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're really something, you know that?"

"I know. We both are really." Wanda giggled away. She snatched up the apple from the girl, knowing things were going to go fine now for the future companion. The Time Lady skipped past the Doctor while munching on the apple in delight. "Come on, Spaceman, Pond. We need to get a move on if we're gonna save the world." She skipped off going towards the centre of the village green as there were people had gathered around taking pictures and videos with their mobile phones of the sky above.

Amy walked over beside the Doctor, shaking her head in wonderment. "Is she always like this?"

"Yep! Isn't she just magnificent?" the Doctor replied brightly, hurrying after his Wanderer. Amy rolled her eyes, thinking she would not quite call it being 'magnificent.' More like being mental. But she was not going to argue with a couple of 'time travellers.' She still was not sure if she believed them, but at the current moment with the world being close to ending, she was not going to disagree either.

XxXxXxXx

I'm just loving all of this. XD I hope you are, too! Please drop by in a review and let me know on any thoughts or feelings you have about the story. I always love seeing from each and every one of you lovely readers. :) Also, getting any kind of feedback on how the story is going, the settings, the characters, or anything else greatly helps me in developing the story even better than before. I'm always striving to be better for you all. :)

Reviewers:

Whovaineverlark17: Well, only a little overprotective I think. ;) I really hope you enjoyed the newest chapter! Thank you so much for leaving a wonderful review! Take care!

Ronin Kenshin: Glad to be back! Thank you so much! I hope to see you again next time. :)

heroherondaletotherescue: This is one of my favorite moments, too! :D I love this moment with the Doctor. Meeting a new Doctor and companion is always fun, but putting their first meeting together is just brilliant. Wanda remembering is always an interesting thing. I'm sure we'll find out in the future. ;) Until next time!

Momochan77: lol I'm so happy you enjoyed the fun moments so much! :D I've always loved this moment with Eleven. He himself is always so funny and a blast. But this moment of his, in particular, is just amazing. :) Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Take care!

bored411: lol I loved that moment, too. Amy is just awesome in how she never holds back. :) So glad that you're happy! I'm trying to keep to a good schedule for now on. Hope I can keep up the good work. :) Sorry that your favorite moment wasn't in this chapter. I hope it was still an enjoyable read in the end. Please let me know what you thought about it. :) Hope to see you in the future! Until next time!

grapejuice101: It's one of my favorites, too! I just love the moment the Doctor goes through Amelia's kitchen in a food craze lol ;) I really hope you enjoyed the newest episode. And we'll just have to wait and see what Prisoner Zero will do in the next chapter to come. ;) So glad to see you again!

XxXxSleepingAngelxXxX: Hi! :D Aww thank you so, so much! It means the world to me in hearing how much you enjoy the story. I really hope it continues to be enjoyable. :) Have a wonderful day/night as well! Als, hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Take care!

All The Stories Are True 24601: Thank you! :D I'm really glad you enjoy the different Wandas. I always worry I don't do her personalities good enough. Glad the story conveys her different incarnations well though. :) lol Truthfully, I've never had custard creams. But I enjoy custard generally and never liked Jammie Dodgers, so I always thought I'd custard creams more. :) Then again, Wanda choose in the end what she likes. ;) Thanks for the love! Sending love right back at you! XD Until next time!

ShadowOwl: Woo! Timing! :D So happy that you caught the story at a good time. It's great having you around for the newest chapters! Yay for the re-read being awesome! :) I'm just so happy that you're finding so much joy in the story. I really did have a set plan when this story began. Have to have a timeline put together if things are going to stay less wibbly wobbly lol ;) Trust me though, it took a lot of work, research, thought, timeline charts, and such to make absolutely certain the story would flow as perfect as possible. I even waited a few years in making certain the story was down the right path and set before even posting it on the site. I was really nervous in posting it, afraid I wouldn't be able to make a story good enough. I'm still fearful that I've lost my touch over time in being absent for so long. I really hope that the story stays enjoyable for you. :) It really was about time, wasn't it? lol ;) Sadly the mystery of Alpha is still a ways off. But don't worry, we will find out by the end of this part of the story. I promise. Also, yes, indeed, spoilers for now. ;) Hope to see you again soon! Take care!

N7SpaceHamster: So glad it was a nice way to end your week. :) Don't you worry, I will always love writing! Though, I have been having some writer's block issues lately. lol But don't worry, I'm pushing right on through it. :) Agreed, feedback is always the best. :D There might not be a whole lot of swimming references, just a few. But I hope you enjoy them still. :) I always love Wanda being throw into things like that. Makes the adventure have a great kick start to it. Nope, no chapter with the Master yet. But those will come, trust me. He does have some part to play, but . . . well that will just have to be spoilers for now. The Doctor's possessiveness can be a scary thing. Even unhealthy. Again, spoilers as to why he is this way. ;) Agreed, just too heartbreaking. I've actually never heard of those violins before. That's a great idea! Maybe I'll add something about those in the future. ;) Aww thank you! I always enjoy the story being more about change than just the same thing from the show. It's never fun when it just sticks to the same structure as we've become used to. Hope you enjoyed their interactions in this chapter, too. As well as the flashback. Indeed, you're correct. More and more are popping up. Just more mystery and spoilers ahead. Especially for Wanda's previous life. ;) There is also two of those names that are one in the same. But that's up to you to find out which ones are the same person. ;) Also, I think you might be forgetting the TARDIS as the other 'she.' As to Wanda forgetting, it's more of she tends to not think/remember about the little details in the Doctor's life. She remembers all the big events which affect him. But things like cricket bats just slip through the cracks. As well as the more she delves into the possibilities during the day, the more she forgets of what she saw on her show in her past life. Also, yes, things are hard to remember after seventy-five years. lol ;) Thank you so much for the amazing review! Hope to see you again soon, too! Enjoy your beautiful day/night! :D

Constance: lol Glad you liked that moment. ;)

alexa-chan me: Woo! So happy you liked it! :D lol I thought it was pretty funny, too. Only Amy would do something like that. ;) I really hope it will be a good ride and worth the wait for the mystery. Been nervous about people not liking the outcome. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll enjoy the end of it all. :) Hope to see you again in the future! Until next time! Take care and have a brilliant day/night!

Thank you all once again for such beautiful words. Each of you deserves the best of lives and bright futures to come! Everyone one gets a cookie for being amazing. :D

~Tinker~